As I listen to today’s first reading from Sirach, I can’t help but smile when I think of the common use of “BFF” today.  Certainly, Jesus is the very best BEST FRIEND FOREVER!

 “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth” (Sirach 6: 14-15).

It seems to me that our friendship with Jesus sheds light on what should characterize our friendship with others, and our friendship with others can help reflect the gift of friendship we have with Jesus.

I certainly feel blessed to have a few good friends who serve as this reflection for me.  Who are the friends for whom you are grateful today?

Yesterday touched on a treasured tradition here at our Provincial Center. Several of our Sisters gathered after Mass with Father Tom Leyland for the blessing of a special Marian Grotto on the fourth floor porch.  This so reminds me of the many May Altars I experienced as a child in my home, my classroom and in my parish church.

At times, individuals express concern that we are focusing too much attention on Mary and not enough on Jesus. It is certainly possible to get caught up in the rituals or devotions, but if our love for Mary is sincere we have no cause to be concerned.  Mary will never draw us to herself without taking us to the heart of her Son, Jesus.  St. Maximilian Kolbe said, “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”

I, for one, know I need the special love and protection of a devoted Mother.  Mary, our Mother, pray for us.

What is your favorite memory of devotion to Mary?

God gave birth to the universe in the Big Bang, the first instant in the universe’s baby book. At its birth Baby Universe, perhaps an inch long, probably weighed a thousand tons. There was a lot for Divine Parent to love! And Baby Universe grew rapidly. At about one one-hundredth of a second Baby Universe measured the length of our solar system.

God must have been delighted! Everything was going according to plan, a beautiful birth. Every particle newly born expressed God’s loving spirit. Everything was filled with Love. If only we had the universe’s baby picture, wouldn’t we say, “Looks just like its Father”?

Delight in the photos of God’s Baby! You’ll be caught up in the same loving spirit.

There is so much in the Gospel readings from the Farewell Discourse of John’s Gospel that makes me stop and ponder….and wonder. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus refers to His disciples and all of us as “those You [the Father] have given me.”  Jesus truly sees me as “a gift from the Father!”  I find that pretty amazing.

The fact that Jesus called the apostles “gifts” — those who would betray, deny and doubt him — and that He calls me “gift” — despite the many times I miss the mark — brings me a great deal of hope.  It also challenges me to see the people in my life in an equally favorable light.  Do I consider each person I encounter as “a gift from the Father?”

Who are the gifts the Father has placed in your life for whom you are grateful today?

“Lord, give me all that I need to do what you would have me do this day,” Lisa has prayed each morning since October 15, 2004, when the Casualty Operations Desk verified that her son Matthew was listed as VSI (Very Seriously Injured). His tank was attacked inIraq, and all the other soldiers were killed.

Over the years Lisa knows that Matthew’s progress can stop anywhere. Her prayer continues to be, “Lord, give me all that I need to do what you would have me do this day.”

What do you need today? Just ask. God will dive in when we’re drowning in sorrow. God will walk by our side when we need companionship. God will carry us when we can go no farther.

I think God must smile at times when I try so hard to be in control.  When we go to Mass each morning, we take turns driving.  One morning, one of the other Sisters commented how much she was enjoying the scenery because I was driving and she was able to look around.

God offers me this opportunity all the time.  He’s willing to do the driving and free me to enjoy the journey.  I need only to trust that He knows where He’s going and that He knows the best speed and direction to go.  Amazing how often I think I know a better way and turn into a back seat driver!

I think I’ll let God do the driving today and just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Spring clean-up at the PC with Sr. Ruth and Tom!

Today I took newspapers for recycling. Ilia Delio in her book Care for Creation claims that we encounter Christ crucified at our hands by pollution and waste. So did I encounter the Risen Lord through recycling? I believe I did. Christ was in the persons who lifted the bundles onto the truck.

Christ’s loving pride in creation—“See what I made!”—was in the people working in their yards to remove the debris of winter, their hands itching to plant.

Christ was in my thoughts as I planned a route with multiple stops to conserve gasoline. May earth’s green gems rising remind us of Jesus risen from the dead.

As we celebrate Nurses’ Appreciation Week, I am very grateful for the loving service many of our Sister Nurses have provided for us and so many over the years.  One of my first encounters with their loving care as early as my high school years was the attention shown to me by Sister Mary Leo (aka Sr. Mary Leonilde) Furlong.  Sister served in nursing ministry for over 30 years and has shown Christ’s compassionate healing in countless ways.

Sister Mary Camilla Lochotzki is one of our Sister Nurses who continues this healing ministry today in her ministry at Rosary Care Center in Sylvania. At a gathering of our Sisters involved in health care ministry a year ago, they summarized their care as follows:

We, the Sisters of Notre Dame in the ministry of health
care, witness to God’s goodness and provident care
through the healing ministry of Jesus.
We commit ourselves to:
• respect for the dignity of the human person
• the health of the whole person
• universal access to health care
• preference for those who are poor or marginalized
• unity in our internationality
that all may have life and have it to the full.

 Thank you, Sisters, for your loving service!

It seems that many of my meetings and encounters of these past few days have had a strong emphasis on the importance of social media in sharing our message. A group of Vocation Directors met to discuss effective ways to reach young adults through social media, I just listened to a webinar addressing effective parish websites, I had a conversation with our communication director about our community blog content and how to link it to twitter account. There are so many avenues available and in demand of our time and attention.

I find myself stepping back and wondering just how Jesus would use social media if He was walking in our world today?  What would be the topic of his blog post? Who would He follow on twitter? Would He post a picture of Himself with His apostles? A comment made by one of our Sisters last night reminded me that above all Jesus’ greatest means for conveying His message was His joyful and engaging personality — His deep joy.  Media tools are a tremendous help, but the witness of joy is by far what draws people into the message.

Whose joyful witness has drawn you closer to Jesus?

Spring—season of glowing daffodils, pink blossoms—and mud.  Scraping tennis shoes is a ritual of the season. With stick or screwdriver in hand, I focus on every crevice, the sole a labyrinth demanding concentration. Scraped out dirt returns to the earth to take part in the growing of daffodils and pink blossoms. In the beginning God created the cycles and saw that it was very good.

Throughout the day notice the blessings of creations. With God say, “That’s good!”